BREAKING: US Embassy in Nigeria to be Closed, Reason Emerges

FCT, Abuja – The United States (US) Embassy in Abuja and Consulate General in Lagos state will be closed on Thursday, January 9, 2025.

According to the US Mission to Nigeria in a statement on Wednesday evening, January 8, 2025, the temporary closure is to honour former American leader, Jimmy Carter who died on December 29, 2024, aged 100. Carter served one White House term from 1977 to 1981.

The US Mission stated that it remembers the late Carter as a tireless advocate for peace, democracy, and human rights.

The statement partly reads:

“As the first U.S. President to visit Nigeria, he strengthened U.S.-Nigeria relations and supported Nigeria’s democratic process. His legacy continues to inspire us.”

It is understood that the US Embassy in Nigeria will resume normal operations on Friday, January 10, 2025.

Jimmy Carter’s funeral to hold on Thursday

Legit.ng reports that on Tuesday, January 7, Carter’s flag-draped casket arrived at the Capitol on a horse-drawn caisson after a funeral procession down Pennsylvania Avenue. Family members followed on foot, in a nod to Carter’s walk down the boulevard during his 1977 inauguration. Cadets from the U.S. Naval Academy saluted the former Navy submarine officer.

Carter’s remains will lie in state in the Rotunda of the Capitol for the next few days for members of Congress and the public to pay their respects. His body will travel by motorcade on Thursday, January 9, 2025, for a funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral.

Both President Joe Biden and the incoming US leader, Donald Trump, are expected to attend Carter’s funeral service on Thursday morning, January 9.

Biden was expected to deliver the eulogy. After the funeral, Carter’s remains will be flown back home to Georgia. His body will be interred later that day in his hometown of Plains.

Tinubu’s tribute to Jimmy Carter

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria extended his condolences to the government and people of the US over Carter’s death.

Tinubu lauded Carter’s “significant contributions” through The Carter Centre, particularly his efforts in eradicating Guinea worm disease and river blindness in Nigeria, which the Nigerian leader said “have significantly improved the lives of many Nigerians”.